Elijah lay awake, cradling Sadie in his arms and wondering just what he’d done to deserve so much happiness. Despite the horrors that had preceded his return to the grove, the past week had been filled with contentment and joy. And most of that could be laid at the feet of the woman beside him.
Sadie was still asleep, and without her bulky armor, she seemed so much smaller a...
2025-01-27 16:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostBlood roiled at his feet, but Zeke could not be bothered to notice. Instead, the whole of his attention was on the monster trying to eat his face. If he’d had the space to think, he probably would have considered that a logical course.
Instead, he’d fully embraced the fury within. It was the only way he had any chance of overcoming the creature, which looked li...
2025-01-27 14:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostNico Song ran his fingers beneath the water of the fountain, lost in the raging thoughts hammering their way through his mind. Nothing he’d experienced since the world’s transformation had been fair, but that was nothing new. Even before anyone had ever heard of the system or the World Tree – such a stupid name for what was likely a natural spread of ethera through the univers...
2025-01-26 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostSadie stumbled slightly when a wall of dense ethera hit her. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself on what she thought was a tree. Then, it said, “Welcome to the grove. Please step to the side so as not to block the portal.”
She flinched away, her hand darting to the sword strapped to her back. She’d foregone her armor – largely because it was mostly d...
2025-01-25 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“It feels like I’m running away from my problems,” Sadie said, running her hand through her hair as she looked around the room. “My people need me now more than ever before.”
“But do they want you?” Elijah asked.
It was a valid question, but Sadie didn’t immediately answer. Instead, she turned away and walked toward her window. From the height of he...
2025-01-24 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post“Anything you want to say before I head in?” Zeke asked, standing before the gate leading to the next circle – this one dedicated to the sin of wrath. “If it’s anything like the others, you won’t be able to communicate with me while I’m in there.”
“I am well aware of the restrictions,” Eveline said, having recovered a little vigor. “And just so you know, ...
2025-01-24 14:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“What do you think?” asked Miguel, glancing to the leader of the expedition. She was the shortest and stoutest dwarf Miguel had ever seen, with a beard thick enough that he’d originally mistook her for a man. But despite her wide-as-she-was-tall stature, she’d established herself as a solid woodswoman, a good fighter, and more importantly, extremely well-organized. Mig...
2025-01-23 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“You shouldn’t have been able to do what you just did,” Eveline stated the second Zeke crossed the threshold of the gate and left the Circle of Greed behind. “It’s not supposed to be possible.”
“From my experience, what’s possible is kind of fluid,” Zeke responded, letting his shoulders sag. He never would have shown it to someone like the god of greed, but h...
2025-01-23 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostElijah sat in the middle of the temple, his legs crossed and his breathing even as he cast his perception as wide as possible. He couldn’t sense the entire settlement via Soul of the Wild, but he got enough feedback that he felt it gave him a good picture. And he was shocked at the mundanity of it all.
People, just going about their lives, doing the best they could to ...
2025-01-22 16:10:00 +0000 UTC View PostSadie crouched in a fighter’s stance, surrounded by enemies. The grip of her sword was slippery with sweat, and her muscles ached from long exertion. Still, she maintained her discipline, never wavering even as her seven opponents closed in. They attacked in unison, and if she’d been a normal person, their cooperation would have spelled her doom.
It was a good ...
2025-01-22 16:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostElijah landed a few miles away from Hong Kong. There were still a few undead around, but the kamikaze flyers that plagued the city tended to stick to the high rises. So, after exterminating a small horde of zombies by using Lightning Domain, he shifted into the Shape of Venom, adopted Guise of the Unseen, and headed into the city.
It wasn’t long before he found the mos...
2025-01-21 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostPummeling a god into submission was no easy feat, but Zeke was more than willing to try. His fists slammed into the god of greed with merciless fury, but aside from knocking the man backward, there was no real effect. That only meant he needed to hit him harder.
Of course, the man wasn’t willing to just stand idly by and allow himself to be beaten to a pulp. Inst...
2025-01-21 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post“It started out as a forge, and it ought stay a forge,” said Carissa, her hands on her hips as she glared at Carmen, who was studiously ignoring the dwarven woman. “There ain’t no debate ‘bout that. Callin’ it a temple or some such is just gonna get confusin’ to most people. Best keep it simple.”
In truth, Carmen agreed, but she didn’t want to adm...
2025-01-20 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostZeke hammered his fists into the golden dragon, sending out showers of coins spraying in every direction. Even as his knuckles bloodied from the impact, he shoved divine energy into [Hand of Divinity], supercharging the healing effect. It was unnecessary for such small scratches and fractures, but with the thrill of battle surging through him, Zeke acted more on instinct than by vir...
2025-01-20 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostElijah snatched his hand back, exclaiming, “You little son of a bitch!”
He glared at his attacker with undisguised hatred, considering drastic actions. The clouded leopard looked back innocently, then let out a chuff. Apparently, this particular species of feline could neither purr nor roar, which sort of fit, given its size somewhere between a big and small cat. &nbs...
2025-01-19 16:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostSadie missed Dat.
It was such a simple acknowledgement, but powerful in its lack of complexity. For years, he had been her rock. The person she leaned on more than anyone else. He’d always been there, ready with a joke or a poignant bit of advice. He’d helped reign in her worst impulses while offering the support she so desperately needed.
And now he was ...
2025-01-18 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostElijah circled outward from Hong Kong, careful not to attract the attention of the flying creatures that nested in the tallest buildings. They were undead – just like everything else in the city – and they responded to any disturbance with undiluted fury. Elijah had been on the receiving end of their kamikaze tactics on more than one occasion, and he had no interest in rep...
2025-01-17 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostZeke approached the city cautiously, only to find that it was unnecessary. Without the burden of wealth carried by so many others, no one even looked at him twice. But even if they didn’t notice him, he certainly saw them.
Most remained in the shadows, waiting to pounce on anyone they thought they could catch unawares. However, there were quite a few bands of out...
2025-01-17 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post
Mountains of gold stretched as far as Zeke could see, and between them flowed rivers of molten silver. Gems and jewels peppered each mountain, and a moon like a faceted diamond hung high in the sky. In the distance, Zeke saw a lone figure trekking through one of the valleys, his back hunched beneath a comically large pack. A trail of gold coins trickled behind him...
2025-01-16 14:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post“I don’t know what to say.”
Elijah stood next to Sadie, but he didn’t know how to respond to her statement. She’d obviously lost people – everyone had – but from Elijah’s experience, it never got any easier. Coping with the death of a loved one was one of the most difficult experiences one could endure, and what’s more, it was always a personal process. ...
2025-01-15 16:10:01 +0000 UTC View PostElijah was out of tears.
Yet, the ones he’d shed felt like too few. His grief felt too shallow. Dat deserved more. He deserved wailing sorrow and anguish and vows of revenge. But the author of his demise was already gone. There was no one else to blame. All that was left was to wallow in grief, pick up the pieces, and move on.
Which was the sour...
2025-01-15 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostElijah crested the lip of the platform to see two things. The first was Sadie taking a skeleton’s axe to the shoulder. It shattered her ethereal shield, cutting deep into her torso. Blood sprayed from the wound as she collapsed, and Elijah’s heart caught in his chest. But via Soul of the Wild, he felt something else that drew his attention.
Suddenly, Dat appear...
2025-01-14 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAs Zeke crossed the threshold, the echo of a whisper reached his ears. “You hunger as I do, and you will never be satisfied. You will consume everything to reach your goals,” it sighed. “You have not escaped. You have not overcome. You have merely embraced your own gluttony – not for food, but for victory. Beware the cost of winning, for it will be yo...
2025-01-14 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostDat ignored the ghosts screaming at him to turn back, telling him that his friends weren’t worth saving. That Hong Kong was a cesspool of bad memories and even worse people, and it wasn’t his job to pull them out of the muck. None of it was new. Ever single time he used Ghost Cloak, he was forced to endure their input. At times, tuning them out was easy enough, but w...
2025-01-13 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Kill me.”
The pleading voice cut through Zeke’s mind, pulling him up short. The bulbous mass of writhing flesh was still more than a hundred yards away, but he heard its voice clearly nonetheless. And more importantly, he could hear the pain in every syllable. Its next words supported the notion that it was in torment.
“End my suffering. I beg you....
2025-01-13 14:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostSadie met the descending blade of an axe with her sword, sending sparks flying in every direction. The force of the blow drove her to her knees, but she mitigated that by twisting and throwing the axe head to the side. It thudded into the ground, cutting deeply enough to lodge itself in the paving tiles. Sadie used that momentary distraction to her advantage, launching herself...
2025-01-12 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostElijah hit the gate with the force of a speeding train. In the past, that wouldn’t have been possible in his relatively delicate flight form, but with all the recent attribute gains, he could bear it. The gate didn’t even tremble, though. The bones that comprised its arch were entirely solid. He hadn’t even chipped them. That told Elijah everything he needed ...
2025-01-11 16:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostAs he climbed the steps next to Sadie, Elijah focused on Soul of the Wild. He couldn’t feel anything past the door at the top of the stairs, though he could sense an enormous amount of power that reminded him of Yloa. Not in its potency – the Lightning Emperor was a Transcendent, after all – but rather, in the way it felt. Like a bomb on the verge of exploding, it was a ...
2025-01-10 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostStarvation gnawed at Zeke, gripping him in an iron vice and never relinquishing its hold. It was so intense that he’d begun to look at the landscape with desire in his eyes. He’d never been so hungry, a feeling which turned the gluttonous actions of the local wildlife – if it could even be called that – from disgusting to understandable. If they felt half of what he di...
2025-01-10 14:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post